Corinthians surprises with reserve team and forwards qualification in Sul-Americana

Despite a roster full of youngsters and an environment surrounded by controversies off the pitch, Corinthians fans can remain hopeful for the Copa Sudamericana sequence. That’s all because on Tuesday night (11), the alvinegro from São Paulo overcame Universitário do Chile in a game valid for the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana playoffs, inside the Neo Quimica Arena. The completely reserve team did not hinder the performance of the home team, controlling everything from the beginning. The numerical advantage in the final minutes was also very important in building the result, forwarding the classification in the continental tournament.

First time

In front of 36,000 people, Corinthians needed to build an advantage in the elimination match, even though the continental competition was not the priority. From the beginning, the team led by Vanderlei Luxemburgo managed to demonstrate superiority in the match, creating many opportunities, but failing in the decisive moments. Matheus Araújo, Adson and Biro stood out in the offensive actions, especially the young number 26, who tried to surprise the Peruvian defense with some long-distance kicks, but without direction. The São Paulo attack also suffered physically, losing Pedro to an injury before the break, who ended up being replaced by Giovane. The attacker forced a Diego Romero’s intervention soon after, but it didn’t take the zero off the scoreboard.

Second time

The script of leading the match continued in the final stage, which made Universitário continue in defense, without having any creations. Despite not being heavily pressured, Luxemburgo did not take long to promote the entry of Renato Augusto and Angél Romero, trying to improve the attacking frame, but without much success. In one of the only chances in the opponent’s field, the Chilean team reached Carlos Miguel’s goal twice, none of them were very dangerous, leaving without direction.

Close to thirty, the decisive move of the match took place. Valera criminally entered the leg of Rafael Ramos in a move on the side of the defense, the lack of the Peruvian player required a VAR review for a possible expulsion, which happened shortly afterwards. With the numerical advantage, Corinthians gained space and opened the scoring in Itaquera in the following minutes, in an individual play by Renato Augusto. The midfielder passed through the defense with a plastic dribble, leaving the ball to Felipe Augusto, who finished first in the angle. Before the final whistle, Carlos Miguel ensured the favorable result in the last shot in Calcaterra’s kick.

The alvinegro’s advantage gave greater peace of mind to his coach, who was very pressured by his performance within the Brazilian Championship. In the continental competition, Timão plays for a tie in Lima to qualify for the round of 16, facing Newell’s Old Boys in the next phase. The two teams face each other the following Tuesday (17), at the Monumental stadium, in Peru. Meanwhile, the Parque São Jorge team returns to the field this Saturday (14), for the second game of the Copa do Brasil, against América Mineiro, also at the Neo Quimica Arena, needing a victory with two goals to advance.

Featured Photo: Felipe Augusto celebrating his goal for Corinthians. Playback/Twitter